Youth transitions to adulthood in a globalized world: High- school graduates itineraries in Argentina 10 years later

Summary

As a consequence of globalization and technological modernization, transitions to adulthood have suffered substantial transformations. Further on, economic crisis in different world regions produce instability and lack of confidence among youngsters. For young people, coping with uncertainty has become a way of life; also new models of reference in growth processes and social integration of new generations are being spread. In this presentation, educational itineraries of young peoples´ transitions to work and adulthood will be analyzed with reference to the “Argentine” case.

Background of the presentation is a study started in 1999 within a period of deep economic crisis. Here it had been possible to identify several transition routes to adulthood. In 2008 a new follow up study entitled: "Labor market integration of high-school graduates: 10 years later" was started at FLACSO aiming at a longitudinal analysis of changes in such transition pattern. The new quantitative follow-up was performed in March 2011 on the sample of youths who graduated from high-school in 1999. The paper discusses preliminary outcomes referring to educational and labor market integration as to autonomy processes from parental homes. Moreover, it discusses opinions and attitudes related to life conditions, family situations and role distribution in such homes.

* Academic Coordinator of the Youth Research Program for the Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO), with offices in Argentina. Lecturer at: Ludwig Maximilian Universität Munich, Germany.* Researcher at the CONICET and Academic Coordinator of the Youth Research Program for the Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO), with offices in Argentina, amiranda@flacso.org.ar.* Researcher of the Youth Research Program for the Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO), with offices in Argentina, acorica@flacso.org.ar